Measles

Now there's an outbreak of measles in the Netherlands, I've got a reason to blog about.. Measles.
So far, 30 people have been lab-confirmed to have measles. Most, if not all, of these people live in the Dutch 'bible belt', a region in the Netherlands where many people do not have their children vaccinated for religious reasons.[1][2][3]

The last measles outbreak in the Netherlands was in 1999/2000, and yes, this was in the very same bible belt region.[1][2][3]
One way or another, this once again proves that vaccinations can be quite useful.

Measles is a highly contagious disease which generally affects children. One sick person may infect about 10 or more people.[1]
For those of you studying epidemics: its reproductive rate Ro is about 13, which is remarkably high. (The reproductive rate for smallpox is only 6 or so, go figure how contagious measles really is..)
Because of their weaker immune systems, malnourished children are at risk of dying, but even in the Netherlands, children have been known to die because of measles.

Bacterial/Viral/Fungal/Parasitic: Viral
Causative agent: Rubeola
Incubation time: about 2 days
Antibiotics of choice: - 
Antivirals of choice: -
Toxins / Factors: - 
Bioterrorism agent category: ? (I think it sucks..)
Vaccine available: Yes
[4]